Police officers leave a house in Birmingham, central England on February 25, 2014 where former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg was arrested early Tuesday. Begg, 45, was among four people arrested in Britain on Tuesday on suspicion of terror offences relating to Syria, police said. Begg, who is now a human rights activist, was detained on suspicion of attending a terrorist training camp and facilitating terrorism overseas, said West Midlands Police. AFP PHOTO / PAUL ELLISPAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Photo: Paul Ellis, AFP/Getty Images

Police officers leave a house in Birmingham, central England on...

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(FILES) A file picture taken on December 20, 2007, shows former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg speaking outside Westminster Magistrates Court in London. Moazzam Begg is among four people arrested in Britain on Tuesday on suspicion of Syria-related terror offences, police said Tuesday February 25, 2014. AFP PHOTO / CARL DE SOUZA/FILESCARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images

A former Guantanamo Bay detainee who is a well-known advocate for the rights of terrorism suspects was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of Syria-related terrorism offenses, British police said.

West Midlands Police said Moazzam Begg was one of four people detained in the Birmingham area of central England.

Police said Begg, 45, is suspected of attending a terrorist training camp and facilitating terrorism overseas.

He was arrested along with a 44-year-old woman, her 20-year-old son, and a 36-year-old man - all suspected of facilitating terrorism overseas. Their names were not released.

Police in Britain do not usually name suspects until they are charged. The force said it was identifying Begg to the media "as a result of the anticipated high public interest."

In 2002, Begg was arrested in Pakistan as an "enemy combatant." He was detained by U.S. forces at Bagram in Afghanistan and later sent to the prison camp in Cuba.

After his release without charge in 2005, he became a director of the advocacy group Cage, which campaigns against alleged abuses committed in the name of fighting terrorism. He is a well-known figure who appears frequently in British media.

Cage called Begg's arrest a government attempt "to ensure that any travel to Syria is deemed suspicious" and to criminalize legitimate activism.

British officials say hundreds of Britons have traveled to Syria to join the battle against the forces of President Bashar Assad. Authorities fear they could present a risk when they return home after fighting with al Qaeda-affiliated groups.